Snow
by Melicress
Summary: With Cagalli gone missing, Athrun goes valiantly out to search for her. Little does he know that she is not the one who will face peril tonight. Athrun/Cagalli


**Disclaimer: Don't own gundam seed, only the plot...**

**Reviewers get cookies! (After I finish sorting through all the other cookies I have to give the people who reviewed ages ago)**

**Note: **Erm... I wrote this back in January, but I never really did edit it until now. I know it doesn't really fit the season, but oh well  Hope you enjoy!

* * *

Athrun shivered, stamping the snow off his boots. He had just come in from sending a massive report to the Orb High Council. They could be so picky with the details. He sighed, looking at the blizzard he had just come in from. If someone wasn't careful, they could die from those temperatures. He draped his coat over the nearest chair, letting the heat of his apartment wash over him. He was glad to be indoors. Settling down on the couch, he leaned back, massaging his bright red cheeks. It was the kind of coldness that burned once you got indoors, reacting with the heat. He winced as tingling feelings ran through his hands and face, occasionally pricking like a needle. He closed his eyes, damp strands of hair sticking to his eyelashes. He needed a break from this. He was just soo tired and...

BRING BRING BRING!

The phone.

BRING BRING BRING!

He should really go get it, it could be important.

BRING BRING BRING!

But he really didn't want to. It was just so warm and comfortable and...

BRING BRING BRING!

_Fine._

His eyes snapped back open, and he tipped forward with a groan. _Once one thing is done, another emerges._ Heaving another sigh, Athrun reluctantly pulled himself off up the coach, shuffling over to the phone. He picked it up, wincing as his cold fingers protested. Lifting the receiver to his ear, he spoke with a low voice, "Hello?"

"Athrun! Good, you're home."

"Kira?" Athrun frowned. Kira sounded out of breath and frantic over the scratchy line. "What's going on?"

"We thought you went missing."

"Missing? Why would I be missing?"

"Well, it's cold and... dark. It's easy to get lost and..."

Athrun could hear the lies spouting from his friend's mouth. Something wasn't right here. "Kira, is someone missing?"

"Well, I just wanted to make sure you were fine, the search teams will find them for sure, so, no need to worry."

Athrun felt a wave of worry overcome him. He wasn't staying in the dark about this, there was no way."Kira!"

Athrun heard Kira sigh over the other end of the phone. "Listen, Athrun..."

Athrun calmed himself down and gripped the phone tightly. This wasn't going to be good. _Who is it? Lacus? One of the kids? Or maybe... no it wouldn't be..._

"It's Cagalli."

"What!" _Why her? Why in the snow?_

"After that meeting she was at, they told us that she went to go walk home, and they haven't heard from her since."

"She walked?! And they let her?! What the hell are they doing down there?!" Athrun's voice rose from its usual calm tone, reflecting his panic.

"Don't worry, they've sent out a search party. I'm sure Cagalli will be fine. I was just worried that you might have gotten stuck somewhere as well. They didn't know where you went after you handed in your report, so I wanted to check just in case... Athrun?"

Athrun wasn't listening. He was already imagining Cagalli, lying somewhere, her skin tinted with unnatural blue and purple as frost bite burned away her skin, steadily being covered in icy white snow. "I'm going to look for her."

"No Athrun! They've already got people out in helicopters and search lights. If you go out there in this weather, you could end up lost as well!"

Athrun was silent, looking out at his newest adversary, the snow.

"Athrun?!"

He hung up, cutting Kira off abruptly. _I can't stand here and wait for them to find her dead somewhere. _He picked up his coat off his chair, quickly putting it on. Grabbing his gloves off the desk, he put them on as well, then cursed when he realized that he couldn't put his boots on with them. Ripping them off in a hurry, he shoved his boots on, tightening the clasps on either side. Securing his hood around his face and wrapping a scarf around his mouth, he put on the gloves again, checking for any unnecessary exposed bits of skin. The phone rang again. He ignored it. Running quickly to the door, he opened it, rushing out into the cold hallway. Bolting down the stairs, he rushed out to the frosty glass doors, pushing them open with a loud bang. Running down the icy parking lot, he felt determination rise up in his chest. _I will find you, Cagalli._

* * *

Kira threw the phone back down, shouting an incoherent curse as he did so. _It's not like I enjoy sitting here either, Athrun!_ Kira frowned with frustration. Now two of his friends were possibly in danger. He heard a soft knocking and turned to see a little hand tapping on the side of the doorframe. "Kira?" _Lacus._

"Lacus, Athrun's gone to search for Cagalli."

Lacus frowned, her petite features crinkling. "Is that so?"

"I'm sure of it..."

Lacus walked carefully over, gazing out the frosted window. "Kira?"

Kira looked at her, his eyes bright. "I shouldn't have called him. Then he wouldn't have gone."

Lacus put her hand on Kira's shoulder, her eyes showing sympathy. "He would have found out by other means. It couldn't be helped. That is the way Athrun is."

Kira nodded, watching the snow gather on the window sill. _Please be safe, Athrun and Cagalli._

* * *

Athrun cursed and hit the dashboard of his car. No matter how many times he turned the key in the ignition, it refused to start. _You leave something out for ten minutes! _He looked at the relentlessly falling snow, thinking of his options. It would be a bad idea to just run out there and search blindly for Cagalli. At that rate, he knew he could end up as the one in danger. But, if he planned his route and only took a certain amount of time, then maybe... he shook his head. It was a bad idea. He knew it was a bad idea. _But still. _He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. _I'll only follow the route that she uses to get home. That's only a 15 minute walk. I won't freeze in 15 minutes. After that, I'll leave it to the search parties. _He nodded his head to himself, and took a deep breath. Bracing himself for the cold wind, he opened the car door, and stepped out.

It was colder than he thought it was going to be. Anyplace where there was skin exposed pricked and burned. Frost gathered up around his scarf and eyelashes just from the heat of his breathing. He squinted, making his way to the sidewalk Cagalli usually used. He calculated. His apartment was about halfway between her workplace and her house. On the half closer to her workplace, there was busy traffic and icy roads. But on the other half, there was the river and huge banks of snow. Athrun hesitated. There would be loads of people on the roads at this time. It was rush hour. It was the river he was worried about. He stamped his foot as cold crept up it. Making his decision, he turned to the right, towards the river.

_Damn, it is cold. _After only a few minutes of walking and calling Cagalli's name he could already feel the nullifying effects of the chill set in. His thinking had started to slow, and the exposed skin on his face and wrists stung even more. Every breath had started to hurt as the condensation from his breath gathered on his scarf and froze to his lips. "Cagalli! CAGALLI!" He nearly felt hysterical. _They said she's been missing for an hour! An hour! Who could survive that without injuries? _He fisted his hands. If anything had happened to her, he'd, he'd... he didn't know what he would do. "Dammit..." he swore quietly with a tone of desperation. He had not survived the war to lose anyone else. Least of all, Cagalli. "Cagalli! Where are you?!" He wavered off the slick sidewalk. He could barely see an inch in front of his face. Little orange dots marked the glowing streetlamps, and dark opaque shapes marked houses and other landmarks. Otherwise, it was all a light shade of grey with the furious snowflakes in between.

With a hard slumping noise, Athrun found that he had stepped right into a thigh-high snow bank. Swearing in disgust at his own mistake, he tried to pull it back out again. It stuck. (1) His eyes widened. _You have got to be kidding me! At a time like this?! _With a few more frustrated tugs, it became obvious that his foot was going no where. Athrun thought he was going to lose it. Resisting the urge to scream in aggravation, he calmly took several deep breaths. He was Athrun Zala. He had survived countless battles and even assisted with the destruction of Genesis. He would not lose control because his foot was stuck in a snow bank.

Trying to gain some leverage, he stood up higher on the other foot, trying to pull his other foot out that way. He felt a moment of triumph as his foot popped out of the hole, only to realize that the boot had not come with it. Angrily shoving it back down, he tried again, only to come up with his sock foot again. Holding it strategically in the air, he leaned forward to try and get his boot out with his hands. Teetering, he reached his gloved hand deep into the snow. He felt the soft fabric and pulled, only to realize that his feet were unsteady. Wary, he let go of the boot, but found that he had shifted his weight too far. With a stifled cry, he fell forward, the cold snow coming up to meet him.

* * *

Cagalli tapped her toes on the hardwood floor, sipping a cup of tea. She had gotten stuck outside trying to walk home, and a kind old woman had invited her into her home. She looked out the window with a sigh, knowing that there were people probably searching for her. The weather was frightful. She looked across the coffee table with pink dollies and flower vases at her host. She was a gentle looking woman with a worn face, her grey hair pulled back in a bun. There were deep crow's feet on the sides of her eyes, and her mouth was always perked in a smile. Cagalli shifted, feeling out of place in the very feminine type atmosphere. "Uh, thank you again, Mrs. Takgochi, for inviting you into your home. I don't know what I would have done without your help. I could still be stuck out there."

Mrs. Takgochi smiled, her eyes twinkling as she smoothed the corners of her white apron. "It was nothing, really, dear. I can't let our Representative go walking out into trouble, now can I?"

Cagalli blushed. _Representative. I still can't get used to that._ "Thank you for your kind words."

There was a long silence, in which both sipped their tea and stared at the falling snow. The woman seemed comfortable with it, but Cagalli felt restless. She thought she might explode if something interesting didn't happen soon. She didn't have to wait long.

"Look deary, I think those are search lights."

Sure enough, pinpricks of light shooting through the clouds. A loud voice soon accompanied it. "Cagalli! Cagalli Yula Atha! Representative! Please make your location known to us!"

Cagalli sighed with relief. She turned and bowed to the old woman. "Thank you again for your hospitality. I will see that you are properly compensated."

Mrs. Takgochi smiled again. "There's really no need, dear. I did it in service of what you did for us during the war."

Cagalli blushed and bowed again. _Such a kind old woman, but a little disarming! _She grabbed her coat and boots off one of the polished banisters. Shoving her arm into the side of her coat, she thanked Mrs. Takgochi again, then headed out the door to meet the search party.

* * *

Athrun spat out a mouthful of snow that had wedged its way into his coat. His head felt a little dizzy, and he was getting colder by the second. _This is bad._ Gripping what little there was to grip onto, he hoisted himself up a bit to see where he was. He instantly wished he hadn't. He was at the bottom of what looked like a very steep hill. _I must've slid down all this way. _He felt the patch of snow he was on. It was slick and shiny, and didn't look too friendly for footing. Especially with one sock foot. Moaning, he sat back on his heels, only to slip back face down on the snow. Huffing a muffled curse, he shivered as water soaked through his gloves and the knees of his pants. He froze. A pool of water was slowly gathering around his knees and hands, and the ground seemed to be sinking. _Where's all this water coming from?! What the hell?! _Athrun looked carefully at the snow. A small cracking noise was coming up from underneath, and there was the regular swishing sound of water. His blood ran colder than he already was. _This isn't snow..._ _the river! I'm on top of the river!_

* * *

Cagalli waved as a helicopter descended, whipping illuminated snow particles around. She smiled as Kisaka's face appeared, and felt immense relief. Now she wouldn't have to worry, and others wouldn't have to worry. She climbed up on the metal rungs leading up to the cockpit. Kisaka smiled at her. "It's good to have you back Cagalli. We'd thought we'd lost you."

"Umm... sorry Kisaka," Cagalli bowed her head, "I guess I didn't realize how cold it was outside."

Kisaka grabbed her hand and pulled her up the rest of the way. "Your friends were very worried about you. Kira has been calling every 15 minutes to ask about our progress."

"I'm sorry, is there anyway I can contact them?" Kisaka nodded, and pulled out a cell phone from his pocket. Cagalli thanked him and dialled Kira's number. The phone rang twice.

"Hello?"

"Kira! I'm okay!"

"Cagalli! Where were you?"

"A kind old woman let me stay in her home until someone found me."

"That's great! I'm so glad you're okay!"

"I'm so sorry! I just didn't realize how cold it was!"

"That's great...but..."

"Kira?"

"Hey Cagalli..."

"Yeah?"

"I just had a thought."

Cagalli frowned. "Erm, what was your thought, Kira?"

"You were at that lady's house this entire time?"

She didn't really know where this was going. "Uh, yeah, I was."

"Umm... why didn't you call us from there?"

Cagalli blanched. "Uh, well..." She hadn't thought of calling. _You stupid moron! You could've called from that lady's house! _She heard Kira shift on the other side of the phone. "I guess I didn't think of that." She heard light noises on the other side of the line. "Kira?" All of a sudden, she heard a muffled sound on the phone, like a hand had covered it. Then, she heard and outburst of sound. "Kira?" Then it suddenly came to her.

He was laughing.

"What is so funny?! I just didn't think of it at the time, okay!"

"You mean you spent an hour and a half in that lady's house and you didn't think of calling?"

"Yeah, well, get over yourself."

"How mad was Athrun?"

There was a long pause.

"I haven't seen Athrun yet, I thought he was at home."

"What, you mean, he wasn't the one who found you?"

"No, he wasn't. It was Kisaka." Cagalli heard Kira take a deep breath on the other side of the phone.

"Athrun went out looking for you," he said with deceptive calmness, "You didn't see him?"

Cagalli felt her heart rate speed up. "No..."

"..."

"Kira? When was this?! How long ago?!" Cagalli felt dread solidify inside her. If Athrun was hurt because of her...

"About, a half an hour ago? Forty-five minutes? Somewhere around that time."

"Did he at least go in a car or something?"

"I don't know."

Cagalli felt her quick temper get the better of her. She slammed her fist into the side of the helicopter, causing everyone to jump. "What do you mean you don't know?!"

"I just don't know! That idiot! I told him not to go Cagalli, I did! I did and he hung up on me!"

Cagalli took several deep breaths to calm herself. "Do you know where he was going to look for me?"

"No, I don't. I'm sorry..."

Cagalli could hear the guilty tremors running with her brother's voice. She instantly felt bad for getting angry at him. It wasn't his fault that Athrun decided to play hero and tramp out foolishly into a blizzard to get his toes frozen off. "It's alright Kira, I know it's not your fault. I'll get the search team to try and find him, okay?"

"... alright. Just don't get lost again."

"I promise not to leave the helicopter."

"Good luck. Please find Athrun. We didn't survive the war to have one of us die in a simple snowstorm."

Cagalli blinked away the gathering tears starting to fall on her face. "I promise," she croaked, "I will find him."

"Goodbye."

"Goodbye."

Cagalli coughed as she hung up, trying to hide the fact that she had started to cry. "Kisaka..." she started, but he cut her off.

"I understand Cagalli. We'll find him." Cagalli looked up at him, her brown eyes swimming with gratitude. He smiled at her reassuringly, and grabbed the walkie-talkie that was dangling behind the pilot's seat. "We have retrieved the representative, but we have just been informed that her body guard, Alex Dino, went looking for her as well, and his whereabouts are unknown. We will continue the search until we have found Miss Atha's bodyguard."

Cagalli listened as Kisaka barked more commands to the rest of the search team, her mind floating towards the sanctuary of warm arms and a reassuring smile of the blue-haired coordinator. _Athrun, you are so stupid. _She laughed a little as she imagined the indignant look he would give her if she said that to his face. _And that is one of the many reasons I love you. _She sighed as she listened to the whirring of the helicopter's propellers. _Just please, don't let it be your downfall._

* * *

_Not good! Not good not good not good!_

Athrun tried to take deep breaths as the ice crackled and sunk around him. He needed a plan. Fast. He knew if he tried to stand up the ice would break instantly and he would fall through the hole and drown under the ice. The current was way too strong in this river to risk slipping through. However, if he didn't move now, the ice would continue to sink down and he would be swept under the ice and drown anyway. Maybe if he just inched slowly forward. He looked at the steady current of water now pouring through the cracks in the ice. It was worth a shot, it was better than staying here and falling through. He inched a little bit towards the bank.

Crackle.

_One tiny step at a time. _He moved his knees slowly out of the dent, crawling very slowly towards the edge of the river.

Crack.

_I can do this. I can make it if I just focus and don't look at the ice. I can do this. _He could already feel the water that had soaked through his clothes beginning to freeze.

Crack.

Sweat was starting to gather on his brow, but it was quickly frozen by the cold winds.

Crack crackle snap!

_Stay calm. Just do it slowly. If you panic you'll fall through._

Crack crack crack!

_Slowly._

Crack crack crack crackle snap snap crack!

_I can't make it, the ice is breaking up too fast. _His breath swirled in front of him in panicked gasps.

Crack crack crack crack crack thump crack!

_Now would be a good time to yell for help..._

Crack crack pop snap crackle crackle!

_But who would hear me?_

Crackle crackle crackle snap snap pop thump!

_Please, help!_

CRACK!

Athrun felt a screaming cry for help tear out of his throat as he fell straight through the ice. "HELP ME!"

* * *

Cagalli gripped the sides of her chair tightly, scanning the sidewalks and roads as they flew over them. _C'mon Athrun, where are you? _They were slowly flying over the route she usually took to get home, figuring that it would be the first place Athrun would go looking for her. The streets were virtually empty, save for a couple cars struggling through the growing wind speeds. Every so often the helicopter would swerve and nearly knock her out of her seat, but she just saw this as an opportunity to get a quick view of the streets under them. They were passing by Athrun's apartment now, and with a groan Cagalli realized that his car was still parked outside. _I can't believe that he's that stupid! _She felt herself once again begin to plot exactly what she was going to do to him once they found him. _If they found him... no, we have to find him..._

She scowled as she realized that they were slowly reaching the end of her walking route. The river was coming up on one side, and she could see the roof of her mansion from here. _He's not here. _Cagalli struggled to blink back tears that were slowly forming on her cheeks. _Where is he? _She felt like asking to go search on the ground herself, but she knew she would never be allowed. She was the representative of her country now, and that would be foolish. She felt like screaming out loud from the helpless feelings gathering inside of her, and was just about to, when someone seemed to beat her to it. Some one with a very terrified and resounding voice.

"HELP ME!"

* * *

_No no no nononononono NO!_

Athrun gasped as frigid water soaked straight to his skin, freezing him instantaneously. He had managed to wrap his hand around the edge of the remaining ice above him, keeping himself from being pulled away by the current. The real problem was that he needed air, and he wasn't likely to get it underwater. Athrun struggled to keep his mouth from opening as the freezing spread to all parts of his body, slowly eating away at all of his senses. Water was constantly rushing; constantly pulling at him as he desperately held on to the slippery ice above him. His ears were filled with a muffled roaring sound, distracting him as he tried so hard to think, to concentrate, to...

He felt his final resolve slip away as his hand slid off of the ice, throwing him into the current.

"What was that?!" Cagalli leaned out of the helicopter, looking for the source of the noise. The pilots had already noticed, and were now hovering the craft in mid-air scanning the area. Cagalli crossed her fingers, both hoping that it was Athrun, and that it wasn't. Whoever it was, they were in trouble. She sat back, taking in a larger view. There was the road, the sidewalk, the trees, then the...

"The river!"

One of the pilots turned to her with a puzzled look on his face. "Representative?"

Cagalli scowled at him for being slow. "The river! Someone could have fallen in or something! Check over there!"

"Yes Representative!"

Cagalli tensed as they drew near the shiny surface of the river. She looked around, taking in the small bridge, the collection of trees, and... a crack? She squinted. There was a crack in the river. She followed it with her eyes, down, down, until...

"There," She pointed, attracting the attention of the pilots again, "There's a hole in the ice. Someone might have fallen through." The pilots both nodded, seeing where she was pointing. Flying the helicopter to hover just above the dent, Cagalli held her breath. From here she could see the path of light cracks the person must have made getting onto or trying to get off the ice. There was a fair sized hole not far from the center of the river, and there was a black piece of fabric just resting on the edge. _No, wait... _Cagalli looked closer at the fabric, and could soon pick separate fingers clinging on to the edge. _It's a person! A person is clinging to the ice from underneath!_

The Co-pilot was slowly lowering himself down to the hole on a cord. Positioning himself just above the opening, he reached out his hand to grab the person's wrist. Cagalli felt like she was barely breathing as he slowly clasped the hand, tightening his grip. She watched as he pulled the arm slightly back, pulling them back up out of the water. She heaved a sigh of relief as the pilot pulled the arm closer, preparing to pull them straight out.

But then, the hand slipped.

She felt a sharp cry of fear rise from her lips, and she partially lunged forward, but Kisaka's arm stopped her. The pilot had partially dived into the water and was still under, water rushing around his waist. Cagalli waited with baited breath as the pilot slowly rose out of the water, holding something in his hand.

The hand, followed quickly by the arm rose out of the water. Cagalli felt her chest muscles relax as she realized that the person was not lost to the current. She watched as once again the pilot slowly pulled the person out of the water, this time a set of shoulders coming with it with a head lolling up like a dead weight. Cagalli shrieked as she recognized the color of that persons hair.

Midnight blue.

"ATHRUN!"

* * *

No, I'm not that evil. There is a second part to this, I just haven't finished (even started) it because I got kind of tired of it after it started to get unbearably hot. I'll post it when I finished it, but there is no guarantee that I will finish it soon, as the weather is still uninspiring hot...


End file.
